Internal-combustion engine



, sept. 13,1927.

w. I HARTZELL NTERNAL, COMBUSTION ENGINEl Filed NOV. 29, 41924 INVENTOR Wa/fer L Ho/ffZeH .ww 12. ya?

w .ATToRN Y- Patented Sept. 13, 1792.7.

'Wittmann nnnrznnn; or' liivnirsron, ILLINOIS; i

' -1lxrrinninin-"ccMlnUs'rIon ENGINE.

' My1inventionyrelatesto internal-combus-- The so-,ca-lled pumpingof oil isa very common troubley that occursfin Iinternal;

f u lcombustion engi-nes, especially'those of lthe'l automobile type. Theca-use of `this ;fpumping laction' is v 1that,on, fthe suction stroke of the engine, a vacuum-is formed inthe combustion chamber, which vacuum 'effects theV suckingiup of oil,fwhichhas collectedon the cylinder:walls,.into the -.combust1j0n ychamber proper. This oil., of course, burns much [more slowly than .Y the y'gasoline mix- Y ture and, furthermore, since there is not enough oxygen to support complete vcombustion, deposits of carbon occur. Y 1

Forthe above and other reasons, it is thus very desirablek to prevent as'much of this oil pumping as possible, and it is,

l therefore, kthe chief object of my invention' to provide a relatively simple and inexpenk Y sive, but reliable andfefficient, device for practically preventing this undesirable phe` nomenon'. n y

More specially statedVit vris'the object of my invention to provide, in combination l with a movable vacuum or suction-creating Vmember, such as a piston, a valve device, or the like, that is automatically rendered active during the suction stroke of the piston to prevent the above-mentioned suction of oil along the walls of the cylinders into th combustion chamber proper. Other and more specific objects of my invent-ion, as outlined above, will become fur-V therk evident from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying' drawing, in which Figure 1 is a sectional view of a portion of an automobile engine constructed and arranged in accordance with my present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a more complete sectional 'view of ay T-head engine, indicating, by arrows, the iiow of gasoline and oil vapor.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the apparatus here shown comprises an internalcombustion engine, of which `ra `combustion chamber 1, a cylinder wall 2, va piston 3 and a connecting rod 4, extending Vdown into the usual crank case, are shown.

a {set-off 'the famiiliarpiston rings. 5k for tightly lengagi-ng the` walls of the cylinder 2i duri-ng-operaftir1g-condi-tions.v Near the top or head y6v of Vthe piston 3,VV an annular groove 7 vis provided which communicates at one or more points, as, vdesi-red, with one or a pluralityofradial ducts 8', each terminating inra valve chamber 9. A movable-ball, or other suitable valve member -10,igs enclosed nufa shell or cage 11 constituting therouter wallsofthe` valve chamber 9, For the sake o .fly simplicity, only.V one valve "device is shovvn,` although it will be understood that any suitable member may be employed. i y

operation of my inventiOn, in general, maybe setfforth fas followsz-f, f

The valve member lois adapted to open l on -the Asuction stroke of thempis'ton, which 1s indicated by the arrow onl the drawing,

thus admittingk air at atmospheric pressure from the crank case below the piston to the valve chamber 9, radial duct 8, annular groove 7 and thence to the combustion chamber 1. Sincethe air flowing fromthe annular groove 7 lisl at atmospheric pressure, no suctionof the oil will take place along theV cylinder walls below this point. In other words, the vacuum existing at the sealV in the combustion chamber of prior types of engines isentirely preventedr in my invention, wherein equal, because atmospheric, pressures are present, both along the walls of the piston and in the space just above the piston in thel combustion chamber.

Consequently, no oil pumping can posl sibly occur and the excess of oil between the cylinder walls and the piston will be wiped d own into the crank case by the piston rings.

It will be understood that, whereas the valve is opened, as illustrated, during the suction stroke of the piston, both because of its inertia and also by reason of the fact that* the initial suction acts upon it, during the opposite stroke of the piston, the valve will kbe tight-ly closed and, thus, no deleterious effect upon Vthe operation of the piston during its compression stroke will be obtained.

Fig. 2 shows in complete detail the flow of the gasoline and of the oil vapor on such `down or suction strokev of the piston.

In addition to the engine parts illustrated in Fig. 1, the structure of Fig. 2 includes intake manifold 15, exhaust manifold 16, in-

.v take valve 17 and intake cam 18, exhaust The cup-shaped piston 3 is provided with valve 19 and exhaust cam 20, breather tube 21, and crank case Q2 containing the bodjyT oi. lubricating oil.

The complete path of the gasoline mixture is shown by solid arrows, While the coinplete path oi the oil vapor is indicated by dotted arrows.

l do not wish to be restricted to the specific structural details or arrangement of parts herein set forth`r as various modifications thereot' may be ei'ected without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be imposed thereon as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a cylinder hav# ing lubricated ivalls, of a piston for operation therein and havingl an opening extend ing laterall5T through the piston near the closed end thereof,A and a valve device interposed in said opening; and adapted to automatically open in one direction of travel ol said piston.

2. The combination with a cylinder having lubricated Walls, of a piston Yfor opera tion therein and having a laterally-disposed opening near one edge thereof, and a valve device interposed in said opening to permit the flow of air around said edge into the space behind said piston.

3. The combination with a cylinder having lubricated Valls, of a piston for opera tion therein and having a peripheral groove communicating. with the inside portion of the piston, and at least one outwarc'lly ventingr valve device for auton'latically opening such communication to expel air during,l the suction stroke of the piston.

Il. The combination with a cylinder havinolubricated walls, of a hollow cylindrical piston for operation therein and having a peripheral `groove nea-r the top edge thereof and communicating with the air space Within the piston, and at least one outwardly venting valve device carried in the piston head for automatically openingr such communication duringr the downward stroke of the piston.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my naine this twenty-second day oit' November, 192e.

WALTER L. HARTZELL. 

